Knitting machine



Feb. 19'; 1924. 1,483,904 M. C. MILLER 1 KNITTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 17. 1918 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 "1,483,904 I M- C. MILLER KNITTING MACHINE Feb. 19, 1924.

Filed Au 17. 1918 ts-Sheet 2 wwwss Feb. 19, 1924 I 1,483,904

M. c. MILLER KNITTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 17, 1918 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Feb. 19, 1924.

UNITED "ST mes Max C- MILLER, 01* cmv tA- HILL en ns .rstee i ,,,essl.eues 2 JEN'Q E I KNITTING amen-me COMPANY, :mwwelisr asteuarooaroseno I or RHODE'ISLAND.

ApplicatipnafiledAugustin, 1918. Serial No. 250,361. r

To all whonm'tmayo omen ,Be it k w tt t :I, ultures, as subject of he Emp crve Ge many, r116? s di g e Cumb rl nd Hi l, in th r county f G ndea-nd t t io eRh d l-sland, have inventedpcertainznew and useful limp e e s in iiKni-t i g ic-Mal hines; an 111 do hereby declare the 'following to doe full, :1ear, and exae d s r p ion o -r linvention, :such as wwill enahle othersiskilled in the ,art; to which ,kit-iappertainsto nake and fuse thesa ne.

T is i vention elate lit O web {holde mechanis s @for circula :knit ing machines s as used. fo knitting-seamless hosiery and totheunethod of; starting the knitting bysuoh-mechanism.

One l terature Qfntlie invention-consists :in so operating: the --,W b .aho ders- 1 la circular knitting: machine 1 thateatg the beginningaof the knitting-they @Will ikink rthe @initial course of yarn about all athe needles ,and will hold it-in :hights against the itronts of the needles until-the ,n'eedlesthave again taken the yarn land are drawing r the ::,loops ofgthe rsetond course ;and-;Will retain athe first yarn and carry je-it'back over -the tops of the :needles at; the knitting point sonthat the needles -rise through-the loops oftthe second course in 'front of the -;initial iyann. Allthe loops-of theisecond; course are-thus looped through bightsofithe, initial -:yarn and thereafter I each hourse of aloopsimay be cast over the topsof the .needlesrasv-the succeeding course is drawn ;by the 1ieedles in the usual --manner. By continuing to holdthe zbights of the initialv yarn against the needles; substantially :upnto the knitting point the retention of the initial yarnunderw-the nibs, of the aWGbihOlClQI'S and con.- sequently the carrying of-the initial-yarn back over the :tops of; the needles is p'ractically ensured. FWeb :holders as heretofore operated have usually iheen Withdrawn some distance [before they reach the knitting point, .thus releasing ;th ei;kinked -.yarn of an initial course-land permitting itato straighten "and rise above 1 the Web holder nibs so that it;is'not carried back of the needles asthey draw theloops of the second course with thelresulting (failure toso engage these loops with :thelyarn :ol'the second courseas to i-nitiate'the knitting on all .-.the :needles. :Difiiculty has been experieneed, therefore, in starting Lkni-ttingon allttheneedles,;and ;particular1y when using 8 1100 1 arid'iwirywyarn which; does-n t c ng to the-.a.1.1eed1esor :;retain its :xkinked .condr l ti n-iw enz eleased. By t e above inodetof operating the Web holders, however, .the knitting mayybe quickly initiated on-,all-:.=the

needles without first forming ,a setting up The invention contemplates any suitable means for operating the web :1 holders .:in- :the manner specified. Itlis preferred, however, to reno'ove the web {holder ,Withdrawing cam or; cams from :active ;position ,at e, the beginning of :{the @knitting and :to gender active at this time suitable :means Cforwretaining the web ;holders in advanced position and permitting -thern to yield (radially eat ':the knitting po-int under: 1 the Z influence nQf the :yarn drawn downagainst the curved or inclined supper .sides "of their nibs :to enable the ,yarnv'toipa'sss thereunder. After a :few courses :the Withdrawing scam may he areturned 'to normal :act-iue x-POSl'tlOII Where t it remains runtilakrritting is Zag'ainet'o be started uponibareneedles. v v a :In additiontto; thewfea tures, outlined 3 above the invention includes certain other :features of; construction which ,w-ill; be hereinafter ddesorihed rand re'ferred to in the claims. The variouswfeatures,of the. invention-Will be; understood: from, an inspection of; the-lacc'ompanying l drawings and {the following I detailed @description .of the mechanismiillustrated therei a fIn: the drawings, Figure :1 is a plan I View of. the :Web holder 10am =1'i 1g of a machine embodying the g-prefer-red form); of the invention; Fig. 12 :is; a partial' uiew o'f' the same, indicating the positions .of the parts when starting the knitting aFig; 31 is an relevation looking toward the left; in r'Figwl Fig. a4 is an elevation 2 looking toward :the right in :Fig. -l Fig; 5 isua cliagr,am;show

ingi -in:;p.lan and eQlflVfilllOIl? the ,action .of the yarn of the initial course on the web holders; Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are sectional views on lines 66, 7'7 and 88 respectively, Fig.

1; Fig. 9 is aview similar to Fig- 8, show- In the drawings, the invention is shown as embodied in a revolving needle cylinder,

machine in which'the length of the stitches in different parts of the stocking knit thereon is varied by vertical movements of the cylinder as is the common practice in i this type of machine; The needle cylinder the slot 16.

indicated at 2 carries the usual long and short butt latch needles 4 which are operated during rotary and reciprocatory knitting by knitting cams, pickers and elevating and depressing cams of any usual or suitable construction. The web holders 6 which co'-operate with the needles are mounted to slide radially in the dial 8, and are provided with butts arranged to be engaged by cams on the web holder cam ring 10. The web holders are divided into groups having respectively long and short butts fora purpose hereinafter referred to. The cam ring is mounted on the dial in the usual manner and has the usual limited movement with the dial during reciprocatory knitting. The inner ends of the web holders are guided and held against vertical movement by a guide ring 12 secured at the upper end of the needle cylinder in any suitable manner. This ring is provided on its inner face with an inwardly projecting rib 14 adapted to fit Within'open-ended slots 16 formed in theinner ends of the web holders. Outside of this rib the ring 12 is provided with radial guiding slots 13 for the web holders which extend through the ring at 15 below the rib 14 for the passage of that part of the web holder lying below That part of the ring lying outside of the rib 14 is of such thickness that the walls of the slots 13 in the ring will close that part of the slots 16 in the web holders which is outside the rib 14 when the web holders are in their full retracted position as indicated in Fig. 8. The holddown slots 16 in the web holders are therefore closed at all times by the rib 14 and the walls of the guiding slots outside the rib so that no lint or dirt can collect in the slots 16 between their outer ends and the rib 14 to interfere with the proper operation of the web holders. Another advantage of this form of web holder guide ring at the upper end of the needle cylinder is that the provision of the inwardly projecting rib 14 for engagement with the open-ended slots in the inner ends of the web holders enables each slot in the ring to be conveniently and economically formed by a single f mill 7 ing cut.

21.on'the under side of the cam ring and pressed radially outward by springs 22. The cams are thus radially movable and their active positions are determined by two stationary controller cams 24 and 26 adjustably secured on the latch ring 28. The controller cams are so arranged'that when the cam ring is in position for rotary knitting the web holder cam 18 will be in engagement with the controller cam 24 and will" be held in active position thereby, while the web holder cam 20 will be out of engagement with its controller cam 26 and will be pressed back out of active position by its spring 22. When the cam ring is shifted on a reverse stroke ofthe needle cylinder in reciprocatory knitting, the web holder cam 2O will be carried into engagement with its controller cam 26'and will be forced into active position, while the cam 18 will be disengaged from its controller cam and will be moved outward into inactive position. The controller cams are so shaped that when the needle cylinder is raised, or lowered to lengthen or shorten the stitch they will vary the radial position of the web holder cams so that the advance movement of the web holders will be varied in accordance with the variations in the length of the stitch. This construction is a modification of the construction shown and described 'in application No. 250,362, August 17, 1918, and in which this feature is broadly claimed. The centre cam for wthdrawing the web holders before they reach the knitting point and for preventing over-driving of the web holders as they are advanced by the web holder cams, is formed in two parts, each of which is connected with the opposed web holder cam so that it may be'readily adjusted toward and from such cam to bring it into proper relation thereto, and each of which is also so ,connected with the opposed web holder cam that it is moved radially therewith, and therefore maintained in proper relation thereto, when the web holder cam is moved radially to vary the advance move-- ment of the web holders. As shown, the centre cam comprises two levels 30 and 32 mounted upon a common pivot 34 andtprovided with cam surfaces 36 rees oe On the reverse stroke of the needle cylinder v ismaintained in proper relation to the web in reciprocatory knitting the cam surface 36 withdraws the web holders while that part of the cam surface 38 which is opposite the point of the web holder cam prevents overdriv ing of the web. holders by this-cam.

The means for connecting the withdrawing cams to the opposed web holderca-ms coinprises aplate 49 pivoted to the web holder cam and adjnstably secured thereto by a clamping screw*4@2 passing through. a c0ncentric slot in the plate. The plate is provided with an eccentric slot lengaged by a pin 46 projecting upward from the with= drawing cam. lVhen' the plate is adjusted about its pivot the eccentric slot acting onthe pii'r moves the withdrawing cam toward orfrom the'we-b holder cam tobrin'g it into proper r'elation' thereto, and after the plate is secured in position the witl'idrawing cam hfo'lde r" cam, whatever its radial position.

The-centre cams are so mounted that they may be. raised out of" active position when knitting is to be" started uponbare needles, thus preventing the drawing out of the web holders to form the wave at the knitting point, which is indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. shown in Figs. 8 and 9', the centre cam is mountedupon the inner end of a supporting lever 48' which is pivoted at 50 to the web holder cam' ring, and is'provided with a depending arm. 52 adapted? t'obe engaged by a controller bar 54 which maybe operated manually or automatically by any suitable pattern mechanism. The lever 4'8 is pressed d ownn' ard. to hold the centre cam normally in active position by a spring 516. WVhen the centre cams are raised out of active position,'a spring-pressed blade or arm 58 which is arranged just outside of the path of the web holder butts, is rendered active and forces; the web holders which have been withdrawn by the centre cams forward into their advanced positions andholds them under spring pressure at the knitting point as indicated in Fig. 2. The blade 58 is pivoted at 60 on the web holder cam and is forced inward by the spring 62. After the centre camshave been rendered iiiactive and the pressing blade 58has been rendered active, the yarn for the initial course is fed to all the needles and the needles are operated to knit in the usual way. The needles draw the yarn for the initial course down against the upper sides of the nibs of the web holder's, as indicated in Fig. 11, and at 11in Fig. 5. Since the web holders are held yieldingly in advanced position the action of the yarn upon the curved or inclined upper side of the web holder nib forces the web holder; back until the yarn passes off the point of the n'ibgafter which the web holder is imrn'ediately advanced by the web holder cam 18 and passes over the yarn, kinking'the yarn aboutthe needle and: hold ing it against the front side of the needle, as indicated in Fig.12; and at 12' in Fig. 5. As the web holders pass thepoint of the web holder cam they move outward very slightly to relieve the pressure on the yarn (this movement being shown exaggerated in Figs. 1 and 5 and continue to hold the yarn kinkedagainst the front sides of the needles, as indicated inFig. L0, and at 10 in- Fig. 5

The web holders continue to hold the yarn kinked about and pressed against the front sides of the needles until after the needles ha ve-been raised to'take the yarn for the second course and have drawn the yarn down against-the" nibs of the web holders substantially at the knitting point. The web hold er-sthen yieldjust sufficiently to enable the to pass under the nibs so that there is practically" no opportunity for the initial yarn to escape from below the nibs of the web holders. the loops of the second course down back of the kinksof the initial yarn, after which the web holders will carry the initial: yarn back over the topsof the needles so'that; the needles will rise througlithe loops of theseeond course in front of the initial yarir. The loopsof the second course M 6 therefore looped through the kinks of the initial yarn by all the needles; so that the succeeding courses 0t loops may be drawn therethrough by the:

needles and theloops of the second course cast over the tops oi? the needles by the web holders; inthe usual manner.

To ensure the starting of the fabric on all the needles it is preferred to retain the centre cam-s out of aetlon and the pressing blade in action during the knitting? of several courses, after which the oentre cam is returned to active position either m-annally or automatically, as the case may be. The provision of long and short butt web holders enables: the centre. canis to be conveniently and readily returned to active position. hen the lever carrying the centre cams is released and forced downavard by its spring, the centrecams ride on the tops of the short The needles will therefore draw butts and act upon the long; butts to draw the long butt web holders outward-1y. After the short butts have passed from: beneath the cams, their downward movement into active position is completed so that they are in position to act ulpon v both the long and short butt web holders; W'hen the first long bnttweb holders are drawn outward by the cam 38': they act on the: spring-pressed: blade 58 and force it outward to-its outer position. When the centre finally drop into norni'alposition a spring-pressed latch 64 which is mounted on: the pivot 50 may move down. into position to retain the blade in its outer position by engagement with an upwardly projecting lip 66 on the blade 58. The end of the latch rests against the end of a slot in the lever 48 so that the latch is moved out of engagement with the lip by the upward movement of the lever 48 when the cehtre cams are raised into inactive position.

While it is preferred to employ the specific construction and arrangement of parts shown and. described, it will be understood that this construction and arrangement is not essential and may be varied or modified as found desirable or best suited to the conditions under which the invention is to be employed.

What is claimed is: v

1. The method of starting a knit web on a circular series of needles, which consists in feeding an initial course of yarn to the needles and holding it in bights simultaneously across the fronts of all the needles, feeding a second course of yarn and while all the big-hts of the initial course of yarn are still simultaneously held against the fronts of the needles and under the nibs of the web holders until the needles have drawn the loops therethrough, and then carrying the initial yarn to the backs of the needles so that they will rise through the second loops and in front of the initial yarn, and thereafter continue to knit on all the needles. i

2. A knitting machine, having, in combination, a series of needles, a series of web hold ers co-operating therewith, and mechanism for operating the web holders to kink an initial. course of yarn about the needles, hold it in bights simultaneously wrapped across the front sides of all the needles and under the nibs of the web holders during the drawing of the second course of loops, and then carry it back of the needles as they rise through said loops, and means for thereafter withdrawing the web holders in advance of and advancing them at the knitting point.

3. A knitting machine having, in combination, a needle cylinder, radially movable web holders, means acting automatically to retain all the web holders in advance position and permit them to yield radially at the knitting point during the knitting of the initial course or courses and to thereafter retract them in advance of and advance them at the knitting point during the knitting of the remainder of a web.

at. A knitting machine, having, in combination, a needle cylinder, a web holder dial, radially movable web holders in the dial, two web holder cams, centre cams for withdrawing theweb holders, means for removing the centre cams from engagement with the web holders, and means for retaining all the web holders in advance position and permitting them to yield at the knitting point when the centre cams are removed.

5. A knitting machine, having, in combithe web holders, and a spring-pressed blade for pressing forward the web holders when the centre cams are removed.

6. A knitting machine, having, in combiv nation, a needle cylinder, web holders, web holder cams, centre cams, a'vertically movable support on which the centre cams are mounted, and a spring-pressed blade for pressing forward the web holders normally engaged by the centre cams when the centre cams are raised out of engagement with the web holders.

7. A knitting machine, having, in combination, a needle cylinder, a web holder dial, long and short butt web holders radially movable in the dial, web holder cams, centre cams vertically movable out of and into the path of the web holder butts, and means for pressing all the web holders inward and permitting them to yield at the knitting point when the centre cams are raised.

8. A knitting machine having, in combination, a needle cylinder, web holders, two web holder advancing cams movable to vary the advance of the web holders thereby and arranged to act alternately during reciprocatory knitting, a cam opposed to each advancing cam for withdrawing the web holders as they approach the other and active advancing cam, and a connection between each advancing and opposed withdrawing cam adjustable to determine the space between them.

9. A knitting machine having, in combination, a needle cylinder, web holders, two web holder advancing cams movable to vary the advance of the web holders thereby and arranged to act alternately during reciprocatory knitting, a cam opposed to each advancing cam for withdrawing the web holders as they approach the other and active advancing cam, means for adjusting the position of each web holder advancing cam to vary the advance of the web holders thereby, and a connection between each web holder cam and the opposed cam for maintaining them in proper relation.

10. A knitting machine, having, in combination, a needle cylinder, web holders, two radially movable web holder cams, and controller cams directly engaging the web holder cams to vary their positions in accordance with height of the needle cylinder.

11. A knitting machine, having, in combination, a needle cylinder, web holders, two web holder cams, two pivoted centre cams between the active faces of the web holder cams each adjustably connected to the opposite web holder cam, and adjustable means for determining the active position of each web holder cam.

12- A knitting machine, having, in com.-

bination, a. needle cylinder, a web holder dial, radially sliding web holders having open-ended slots in their inner ends, a guide ring at the upper end of the cylinder having an inwardly projecting rib for engaging the slots in the web holders, and guiding slots wholly outside the rib passing through the ring below the rib.

13. A knitting machine, having, in combination, a needle cylinder, a web holder dial, raidally sliding web holders having openended slots in their inner ends, a guide ring at the upper end of the needle cylinder having an inwardly projecting rib for engaging the slots in the web holders, and guiding slots outside the rib, the walls of which ing butts, two Web holder advancing cams movable to vary the advance of the web holders thereby and arranged to act alternately during reciprocatory knitting, a web holder Withdrawing cam connected to move with each advancing cam and spaced therefrom to prevent over-driving of the Web holder butts thereby, the withdrawing cams being arranged between the opposed active faces of the advancing cams.

MAX 0. MILLER. 

